Central New York school official: 'It's really very, very bad'

View full sizeDavid Lassman / The Post-StandardSyracuse eighth-grade English language arts teacher Tina Jarmacz (right) collects papers from Bellevue Academy students Miracle Loftin (left) and Aurora Pille. The Syracuse City School District would receive the smallest aid cut in Central New York under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed state budget.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- School district officials around the region pored over the budget proposal Tuesday, trying to decipher what the numbers mean for their budgets.

They had expected cuts, but what they saw was, for many, worse than they’d anticipated.

“It’s really very, very bad, there’s no question about that,” said Wayne Bleau, North Syracuse school district’s assistant superintendent for management services. “But you know how these things often go. The devil is in the details, and we’re analyzing and reading all the formulas, which is pretty complicated.”

The governor’s proposal would decrease North Syracuse’s aid by more than 16 percent or nearly $9 million. After adjusting for some discrepancies, Bleu said it looked like his district would be cut by nearly $6 million. Even at that, it would face a projected $15.4 million shortfall in its budget next fiscal year, he said.

The cuts range from -21.97 percent in Chittenango to -3.76 in Sandy Creek.

In Cayuga County, Auburn school Superintendent J. D. Pabis said his district would have to raise taxes, cut more staff and increase class sizes if Cuomo’s cut goes through.

Auburn faces a loss of $4.261 million in state aid, or 13.6 percent less than this year’s total of about $39 million.

“We’re going to have to take a look at the programs we’re offering and the staff we have. It’s not going to be easy,” Pabis said.

The cut could mean hundreds of job cuts in the Syracuse district. Even if state aid were to hold steady at this year’s level, the city district projected it would need to cut 425 jobs to help close a $47 million gap. Under the governor’s proposal, it would need to cut 240 jobs on top of that, district Chief Financial Officer Suzanne Slack said.

Cuomo’s budget proposal says poorer districts would receive proportionately smaller reductions than wealthier districts, and when you look at the percentage of the reductions, that is true, Slack said. Syracuse is a poorer district with a high level of student need.

But when you look at the percentage of state aid in relationship to a district’s total general fund spending, the governor does not spare poorer districts, Slack said.

Central New York School Boards Association Executive Director Larry Cummings made the same point.

The state aid cuts for the poorer districts mean a bigger percentage bite out of their overall budget.

A proposed property tax cap would not affect the proposed budget. If adopted, it would go into effect next year.